The cast has been announced for the UK premiere of Moulin Rouge! The Musical which begins performances at the Piccadilly Theatre in London on 12 November 2021, with press night on 8 December 2021.
Liisi LaFontaine (Good Trouble, Dreamgirls) will star as Satine, the sparkling diamond at the heart of the Moulin Rouge, and Jamie Bogyo (making his West End debut) will star as aspiring writer Christian.
Clive Carter (Olivier Award nominee for his performance as the Prince/Wolf in Into the Woods, and as Claude in Come From Away) will play the legendary Moulin Rouge impresario, Harold Zidler.
The principal casting also features Simon Bailey (Heathers, Jersey Boys) as The Duke, Jason Pennycooke (Olivier Award nominee for his performance as Lafayette/Jefferson in the original cast of Hamilton, Bobby Dupree in Memphis and Jacob La Cage Aux Folles) and Elia Lo Tauro (On Your Feet, Carousel) as the Bohemians Toulouse-Lautrec and Santiago.
The club’s famed entertainers known as the ‘Lady Ms’ will be played by Sophie Carmen Jones (Chicago, Jersey Boys) who will be Nini, Zoe Birkett (Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Hair) as Arabia, Jonathan Bishop (Hamilton, In the Heights) who will play Baby Doll and Timmika Ramsay (Cinderella, Madagascar) as La Chocolat.
The full company is completed by Femi Akinfolarin, Robson Broad, Ian Carlyle, Jonathan Cordin, Anthony Cragg, Katie Ella Dunsden, Adam Gillian, Luke Jackson, Alicia Mencía, Ciro Lourencio Meulens, Georgia Morgan, Melissa Nettleford, Ian Oswald, Craig Ryder, Tinovimbanashe Sibanda, Katie Singh, Ope Sowande, Tanisha Spring, Toyan Thomas-Browne, Amy Thornton, Misty May Tindall, Jon Tsouras, Tommy Wade-Smith and Lily Wang.
Alex Timbers, director of Moulin Rouge! The Musical, said:
“Creating Moulin Rouge! The Musical has been a singularly thrilling and unique experience. I am delighted today to announce the incredible group of actors who will bring this production to life in London. We have brought together a thrilling, hugely talented group of artists, and in Liisi and Jamie, we have two outstanding actors to lead our company. We are all so excited to now start creating the show for UK audiences!”
Directed by Timbers (Here Lies Love at the National Theatre, Tony Award-nominated for Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Peter and the Starcatcher), Moulin Rouge! The Musical has a book by John Logan (Tony Award for Red, three-time Academy Award nominee, including for Gladiator and The Aviator), choreography by Sonya Tayeh (Lucille Lortel Award and Obie Award for Kung Fu, and Emmy winner) and music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Justin Levine (Here Lies Love).
The design team for Moulin Rouge! The Musical includes Tony Award winner Derek McLane (sets), Catherine Zuber (costumes), Justin Townsend (lighting), Peter Hylenski (sound), David Brian Brown (hair and wig design) and Sarah Cimino (make-up design). Casting is by Pippa Ailion CDG and Natalie Gallacher CDG.
Baz Luhrmann’s iconic film comes to life onstage, remixed for today in a new musical mash-up extravaganza. Bringing Moulin Rouge! The Musical to the stage was a decade-long journey, spanning three continents, encompassing 75 songs credited to 165 songwriters, administered by 31 publishers, representing over 160 years of music, including recent hits released since the movie premiered 20 years ago.
Prior to the pandemic, Moulin Rouge! The Musical had been performing on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre where it opened on 25 July 2019. Productions have also been announced for Australia, Japan and a North American tour.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical is produced by Carmen Pavlovic and Gerry Ryan OAM for Global Creatures and Bill Damaschke. The executive producer in the West End is Patrick Murphy and General Management is by Playful Productions.
